Method and means for actuating gun-triggers



G. CONSTANTINESCO.

METHOD AND MEANS FOR ACTUATING GUN TRIGGERS.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT-4. 1 917. RENEWED on. 5. 1920.

1,372,944. Patented Mar. 29, 192

4 SHEETS-SHEET G. CONSTANTINESCO.

METHOD AND MEANS FOR ACTUA'TING GUN TRIGGERS. APPLICATION-FILED SEPT. 4,1911. RENEWED OCT. 5, 1920.

1,372,944. Patented Mar. 29, 1921. 4 SHEETSSHEET 2.

G. CONSTANTINESCO. METHOD AND MEANS FOR ACTUATING GUN TRIGGERS.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT- 4. 1917.

RENEWED OCT- 5,1920. 7

Patented Mar. 29, 1921.

4 SHEETSSHEET 3.

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. ///////////I/l/ .zlrlllflllllllzl \V V G. CONSTANTINESCO. METHOD ANDMEANS FOR ACTUATING GUN TRIGGERS.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 4. 1917.

RENEWED OCT. 5, 1920.

Emma Mar. 29, 1921.

4 SHEETSSHEET 4.

? ffi yx g st GOGU CONSTANTINESOO, OF WEYBRIDGE, ENGLAND, ASSIGNOR OFONE-HALF TO WALTER HADDON, OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

METHOD AND MEANS FOR ACTUATING GUN-TRIGGERS.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented M 29 1921 Application filedSeptember 4, 1917, Serial No. 189,645. Renewed October 5, 1920. SerialNo. 414,833.

To all whom may concern:

Be it known that I, GocU CONSTANTINESOO,

, a subject of the King of Great Britain and Ireland, formerly a subjectof the King of Roumania, residin at Carmen Sylva, Beechwood avenue,atlands Park, Weybridge, in the country of Surrey, England, formerlyresiding at Westoe, Stanley avenue, Alperton, in the county ofMiddlesex, England, have invented a certain new and useful Im rovedMethod and Means for Actuating un-Triggers, of which the following is aspecificatlon.

The present invention relates to a method of and apparatus for actuatinggun triggers by liquid wave transmission of the type de-' scribed in thespecifications of British Letters Patent Nos. 9029 of 1913, and 9930 of1916, and is especially applicable for actuating machine gun triggerswhich are required to be actuated at precise instants, particularly formachine guns firing through the propellers on aeroplanes at intervalsdetermined by the speed of the propeller shaft. For this purpose it isonly necessary to drive the cam of a liquid wave generator from theengine, the cam operating to produce impulses which travel along aliquid column as described in my application for British Letters PatentNo. 9930 of 1916 and which actuate the trigger.

The invention consists in a method of and means for firing machine gunsso that each shot passes between the blades of the rotating propeller'by wave impulses transmitted from a generator driven by the enginewhich drives the propeller.

The invention also consists in the improved means for firing machineguns mounted on aeroplanes hereinafter described.

Referring to the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 shows the general arrangement of a method of employing theinvention for actuating a machine gun trigger for firlng between thepropeller blades of an aeroplane.

Fig. 2 is a section showin the controlling handle of the aeroplanemodified to provide a fire-controlling device.

Fig. 3 is a detail of part of the wave generator.

Fig. 4 being a section on the line 4-4, Fig. 3.

37, illustrated in detail in Fig. 5.

Fig. 5 is a section showing the method of connecting thefire-controlling lever and its pump with the main line.

Fig. 6 is an end elevation, and

F 7 is a section of the wave generator.

Fig. 8 is an end view, and

Fig. 9 a section of the trigger motor for operating the firing pin ofthe gun.

Fig. 10 is a section showing a modified form of trigger motor.

F 11 is a detail of Fig. 10, while Fig. 12 is a section on the line12-12, Fig. 10.

Fig. 13 shows a general view partly in section of a modified apparatusfor controlling machine gun fire between the propellers of an aeroplane.

In the form of the invention shown in Figs. 1 to 9, impulsive wavesobtained by the rotation of a cam driven by an aeroplane engine are usedfor the purpose of firing a machine gun and so timing the shotsthat theyalways pass between the propeller blades. For this purpose the engine iscaused to drive a generator 31, shown in detail in Figs. 3, 4, and 6,which is connected by a pipe 32 with a trigger motor 33. Thetransmission line is filled with liquid and pressure is put upon theline by a pump contained in the control lever 34, which is connected bya pipe 35 through a cook 36 and controlling .valve 37 with thetransmission line joining the generator and motor; The control lever 34,illustrated in section in Fig. 2 comprises a handle 38 normally lockedrelatively to the main portion of the handle 39 by means of balls 40. I

balls can move inward allowing the handle 38 to be pressed downwardrelatively to the portion 39 of the controlling lever. The hollowcontrolling lever 39 contains paraffin oil, or any very fluid liquid, upto a convenient level and the central rod 41 carriesat its end a piston44 adapted to put the liquid under pressure in the chamber 45. Thischamber is connected through the pipe 35.. and cock. 36 with thecontrolling val-lac e liquid from the chamber 45 is forced underpressure into the chamber 46 and acting against the spring 47 opens thecheck valve 48 so that pressure is communicated from the chamber 45through the valve 48 to the main transmission pipe 32. When the handle38 is drawn upward relatively to the part 39 the pressure in the chamber46 falls so that the pressure of the spring 50 causes the bolt head 51to force the valve 48 downward, thus allowing the pressure to drop inthe transmission pipe 32.

It will be seen, therefore, that when the handle 38 is pressed downwardthe pressure generated in the pump cylinder 45 will be transmitted tothe transmission line keeping this under a definite pressure aboveatmosphere. When the handle 38 is lifted the pressure in thetransmission line is released through the valve 48 which remains open.The generator 31 comprises a cam 61 rotated from the engine in anysuitable manner.

This cam acts on apiston 62 so that at every.

revolution of the cam the projection 563 causes a downward movement ofthe plston 62-. If there is pressure in the transmission lihe 32 thisdownward movement of the piston generates an impulsive wave in theliquid in the pipe 32 and this impulsive wave travels along the pipeuntil it reaches the motor 33.

The motor is illustrated in Figs. 8 and 9. It comprises a plunger 71which operates the machine gun trigger or firing pin or the like. Thisplunger is held in the rear position by a spring 72 and is provided atits rear end with a piston 73 which is actuated by the arrivingimpulsive wave. At the rear of the trigger motor there is provided areflected wave absorber -74 comprising a valve having an aperture75'therethrough and held against its seat by means of a spring 64. Uponthe impulse traveling along the pipe and reaching the wave absorber 74the latter is forced away from its seat against the action of the springand the impulsive wave acts on the piston 73 and so forces the plunger71 forward against the action of the spring 72 and thus fires the gun.If the energy of the wave is not ab sorbed by the work done on thepiston the reflected wave is prevented from traveling back by the valve74 closing on its seat and the energy reflected is taken up in thepassage 7 5. v

A modified form of trigger motor is shown in Figs. 10, 11 and 12. Inthis form the pipe 32 is connected at 76 and the trans-' mitted wavepasses through the reflectedwave absorber 77 to the passage 7 8, whichis normally closed by the conical valve 79. Immediately the valve 79opens the impulslve wave acts on a larger diameter than the diameter ofthe passage 78 so that a somewhat sharper impulse is given to theplunger 80 of the trigger motor.

A modified arrangement for firing beterm. The generator 87 is driventhrough a Cardan shaft 88 or any other suitable drive 4 at twice thepropeller speed and is lubricated by means of an ordinary drip-feedlubricator 89. The wave for firing the gun is transmitted from thegenerator to the trigger motor by the pipe 32. In this modification thereservoir by which the'liquid under pressure issupplied is contained inthe cylinder. 90, which is connected 'to the main system by the smallpipe 91. In order to put pressure on the transmission system and causethe gun to be fired, the handle 92 is drawn upward extending the spring93. The handle is then let go and a store of paraffin oil under pressureis thus obtained in the inner cylinder 94 below the piston 95. The gunis now ready for firing, and in order to commence firing when the wavesare generated by the generator 87 the Bowden wire lever 96 is pulled.The Bowden wire is fixed to the projection 97 at thelower end of thecylinder and pulling on the lever 96 causes the sheath 98 of the Bowdenwire to force the pin 99 inward, closing the communication between thepipe 91 and the outer space 100 at the bottom of the cylinder 90 byentering the washer 101 and subsequently pressing on the abutment 102 onthe valve 103 and opening communication between the oil under pressurebelow the piston 95 and the pipe 91. In this way, 'by pulling the handle96 of the Bowden wire device, pressure is transmitted to thetransmission line, with the result that .as the cam in the generator 87rotates a series of impulsive waves are transmitted along the pipe 32and'operate the trigger motor 81. The plunger 83 of the trigger motorwill thus at every half revolution of the propeller cause a for wardmovement of the plunger 83, firing the gun if the firing bar is in thecorrect position for firing. By this means the firing of each shot istimed so that it misses the propeller and it is found that thedifference of time taken by the wave to travel from the generator tothe.trigger motor at difierent speeds is so small that there is nodanger of hitting the propeller for a large range of speeds of theengine. Should it happen that an impulse arrives at the trigger motorbeing fired, the lever 84 simply moves withliquid column at the will ofthe operator to make said column responsive to pressure variations,automatic means for lmpartlng to sald liquid column an impulse atlntervals,

said impulse being ineffective except when the column is under pressure,and an actuating device responsive to the impulse transmitted throughthe liquid column when the latter'is under pressure.

3. Apparatus for the transmission of power comprising: a container for acolumn of liquid normally under atmospheric pressure, means for applyingpressure to said liquidcolumn at the will of the operator to make saidcolumn responsive to pressure variations, automatic means for impartingto said liquid column an impulse at timed intervals, said impulse beingineffective except when the column is under pressure, and .an actuatingdevice responsive to the impulse transmitted through the liquid columnwhen the latter is under pressure.

4. Apparatus for the transmission of power comprising: a container for acolumn of liquid normally under atmospheric pressure, means for applyingpressure. to said liquid column at the will of the operator to make saidcolumn responsive to pressure variations, automatic means for impartingto said liquid column an impulse at intervals, said impulse beinginefiective except when the column is under pressure, an actuatingdevice responsive to the impulse transmitted through the liquid columnwhen the latter is under pressure, and means for absorbing the impulsereflected from the actuating device.

5. Apparatus for the transmission of power comprising: a container for acolumn of liquid normally under atmospheric pressure, means for applyingpressure to said liquid column at the will of the operator to make saidcolumn responsive to pressure variations, automatic means'for impartingto said liquid column an impulse at timed intervals,

said impulse being ineffective except when the column is under pressure,an. actuating device responsive to the impulse transmitted through theliquid column when the latter is under pressure,'and means for absorbingthe impulse reflected from the actuating device.

6. Apparatus for firing a machine gun comprising: a container for acolumn of liquid normally under atmospheric pressure, means for applyingpressure to said liquid column at the will of the operator to make saidcolumn responsive to pressure variations, automatic means for impartingto said liquid column an impulse at intervals, said impulse beingineffective except when the column is under pressure, and a triggermotor responsive to the impulse transmitted through the liquid columnwhen the latter is under pressure.

7. Apparatus for firing a machine gun comprising: a container for acolumn of liquid normally under atmospheric pressure, means for applyingpressure to said liquid column at the will of the operator to make saidcolumn responsive to pressure variations, automatic means for impartingto said liquid column an impulse at intervals, said impulse beingineffective except when the column is under pressure, a trigger motorresponsive to the impulse transmitted through the liquid column when thelatter is under pressure, and means for absorbing the impulse reflectedfrom the trigger motor.-

8. Apparatus for firing a machine gun comprising: a container for acolumn of liquid normally under atmospheric pressure, means for applyingpressure to said column of liquid at the will of the operator to makesaid column responsive to pressure variations, means driven in timedrelation with an aeroplane propeller for imparting to said liquid columnan impulse at regularly recurring intervals, said impulse beinineffective except when the column is unc er pressure, and a triggermotor responsive to the impulse transmitted through the liquid columnwhen the latter is under pressure.

'9. Apparatus for firing a machine gun comprising: a container for acolumn of liquid normally under atmospheric pressure, means for applyingpressure to said column of liquid at the will of the operator to makering intervals, said impulse being ineffective 1 except when the columnis under pressure, a trigger motor responsive to. the impulsetransmitted through the liquid column when the latter'is under'pressure, and means for absorbing the impulse reflected from. the Ttrigger motor.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

GOGU CONSTANTINESCO.

